1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a golf ball. More specifically, the present invention relates to a two-piece golf ball with an oversized core and a reaction injection molded polyurethane cover.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally golf balls are made by molding a cover around a core. The core may be wound or solid. The cover is typically injection molded, compression molded, or cast over the core. Injection molding typically requires a mold having at least one pair of mold cavities, e.g., a first mold cavity and a second mold cavity, which mate to form a spherical recess. In addition, a mold may include more than one mold cavity pair.
In one exemplary injection molding process each mold cavity may also include retractable positioning pins to hold the core in the spherical center of the mold cavity pair. Once the core is positioned in the first mold cavity, the respective second mold cavity is mated to the first to close the mold. A cover material is then injected into the closed mold. The positioning pins are retracted while the cover material is flowable to allow the material to fill in any holes caused by the pins. When the material is at least partially cured, the covered core is removed from the mold.
As with injection molding, compression molds typically include multiple pairs of mold cavities, each pair comprising first and second mold cavities that mate to form a spherical recess. In one exemplary compression molding process, a cover material is pre-formed into half-shells, which are placed into a respective pair of compression mold cavities. The core is placed between the cover material half-shells and the mold is closed. The core and cover combination is then exposed to heat and pressure, which cause the cover half-shells to combine and form a full cover.
As with the above-referenced processes, a casting process also utilizes pairs of mold cavities. In a casting process, a cover material is introduced into a first mold cavity of each pair. Then, a core is held in position (e.g. by an overhanging vacuum or suction apparatus) to contact the cover material in what will be the spherical center of the mold cavity pair. Once the cover material is at least partially cured (e.g., a point where the core will not substantially move), the core is released, the cover material is introduced into a second mold cavity of each pair, and the mold is closed. The closed mold is then subjected to heat and pressure to cure the cover material thereby forming a cover on the core. With injection molding, compression molding, and casting, the molding cavities typically include a negative dimple pattern to impart a dimple pattern on the cover during the molding process.
Materials previously used as golf ball covers include balata (natural or synthetic), gutta-percha, ionomeric resins (e.g., DuPont's SURLYN®), and polyurethanes. Balata is the benchmark cover material with respect to sound (i.e. the sound made when the ball is hit by a golf club) and feel (i.e. the sensation imparted to the golfer when hitting the ball). Natural balata is derived from the Bully Gum tree, while synthetic balata is derived from a petroleum compound. Balata is expensive compared to other cover materials, and golf balls covered with balata tend to have poor durability (i.e. poor cut and shear resistance). Gutta-percha is derived from the Malaysian sapodilla tree. A golf ball covered with gutta-percha is considered to have a harsh sound and feel as compared to balata covered golf balls.
Ionomeric resins, as compared to balata, are typically less expensive and tend to have good durability. However, golf balls having ionomeric resin covers typically have inferior sound and feel, especially as compared to balata covers.
A golf ball with a polyurethane cover generally has greater durability than a golf ball with a balata cover. The polyurethane covered golf ball generally has a better sound and feel than a golf ball with an ionomeric resin cover. Polyurethanes may be thermoset or thermoplastic. Several patents describe the use of polyurethanes in golf balls.
Gallagher, U.S. Pat. No. 3,034,791 discloses a polyurethane golf ball cover prepared from the reaction product of poly(tetramethylene ether) glycol and toluene-2,4-diisocyanates (TDI), either pure TDI or an isomeric mixture.
Isaac, U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,568 (“the '568 patent) discloses a polyurethane golf ball cover prepared from prepolymers and curing agents that have different rates of reaction so a partial cure can be made. The '568 patent explains that “the minimum number of reactants is three.” Specifically, in '568 patent, two or more polyurethane prepolymers are reacted with at least one curing agent, or at least one polyurethane prepolymer is reacted with two or more curing agents as long as the curing agents have different rates of reaction.
Similar to Isaac, PCT International Publication Number WO 99/43394 to Dunlop Maxfli Sports Corporation, discloses using two curing agents to control the reaction time for polyurethane formation. The two curing agents are a dimethylthio 2,4-toluenediamine and diethyl 2,4-toluenediamine, which are blended to control the reaction rate of a toluene diisocyanate based polyurethane prepolymer or a 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate based polyurethane prepolymer.
Dusbiber, U.S. Pat. No. 4,123,061 (“the '061 patent”) discloses a polyurethane golf ball cover prepared from the reaction product of a polyether, a diisocyanate and a curing agent. The '061 patent discloses that the polyether may be polyalkylene ether glycol or polytetramethylene ether glycol. The '061 patent also discloses that the diisocyanate may be TDI, 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (“MDI”), and 3,3′-dimethyl-4,4′-biphenylene diisocyanate (“TODI”).
Hewitt, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,248,432 (“the '432 patent”) discloses a thermoplastic polyesterurethane golf ball cover formed from a reaction product of a polyester glycol (molecular weight of 800-1500) (aliphatic diol and an aliphatic dicarboxylic acid) with a para-phenylene diisocyanate (“PPDI”) or cyclohexane diisocyanate in the substantial absence of curing or crosslinking agents.
Holloway, U.S. Pat. No. 4,349,657 (“the '657 patent”) discloses a method for preparing polyester urethanes with PPDI by reacting a polyester (e.g. prepared from aliphatic glycols having 2-8 carbons reacted with aliphatic dicarboxylic acids having 4-10 carbons) with a molar excess of PPDI to obtain an isocyanate-terminated polyester urethane (in liquid form and stable at reaction temperatures), and then reacting the polyester urethane with additional polyester.
Wu, U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,673 (“the '673 patent”) discloses a polyurethane prepolymer cured with a slow-reacting curing agent selected from slow-reacting polyamine curing agents and difunctional glycols (i.e., 3,5-dimethylthio-2,4-toluenediamine, 3,5-dimethylthio-2,6-toluenediamine, N,N′-dialkyldiamino diphenyl methane, trimethyleneglycol-di-p-aminobenzoate, polytetramethyleneoxide-di-p-aminobenzoate, 1,4-butanediol, 2,3-butanediol, 2,3-dimethyl-2,3-butanediol, ethylene glycol, and mixtures of the same). The polyurethane prepolymer in the '673 patent is disclosed as made from a polyol (e.g., polyether, polyester, or polylactone) and a diisocyanate such as MDI or TODI. The polyether polyols disclosed in the '673 patent are polytetramethylene ether glycol, poly(oxypropylene) glycol, and polybutadiene glycol. The polyester polyols disclosed in the '673 patent are polyethylene adipate glycol, polyethylene propylene adipate glycol, and polybutylene adipate glycol. The polylactone polyols disclosed in the '673 patent are diethylene glycol initiated caprolactone, 1,4-butanediol initiated caprolactone, trimethylol propane initiated caprolactone, and neopentyl glycol initiated caprolactone.
Wu, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,974 discloses golf balls having covers and cores that incorporate urethane ionomers (i.e. using an alkylating agent to introduce ionic interactions in the polyurethane and thereby produce cationic type ionomers).
Hebert, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,885,172 (“the '172 patent”) discloses a multilayer golf ball giving a “progressive performance” (i.e. different performance characteristics when struck with different clubs at different head speeds and loft angles) and having an outer cover layer formed of a thermoset material with a thickness of less than 0.05 inches and an inner cover layer formed of a high flexural modulus material. The '172 patent provides that the outer cover is made from polyurethane ionomers as described in Wu, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,974, or thermoset polyurethanes such as TDI or methylenebis-(4-cyclohexyl isocyanate) (“HMDI”), or a polyol cured with a polyamine (e.g. methylenedianiline (MDA)), or with a trifunctional glycol (e.g., N,N,N′,N′-tetrakis(2-hydroxpropyl)ethylenediamine).
Wu, U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,870 (“the '870 patent”) discloses golf balls having covers composed of a polyurea composition. The polyurea composition disclosed in the '870 patent is a reaction product of an organic isocyanate having at least two functional groups and an organic amine having at least two functional groups. One of the organic isocyanates disclosed by the '870 patent is PPDI.
What is missing from the prior art is a two-piece golf ball with an oversize core and a durable cover.